Facebook Introduces Safety Tools for Journalists

Journalists are using Facebook in innovative ways to do their jobs, tell stories, and connect directly with people.

To ensure that their information and accounts are secure and they can stay safe online and protect their contacts Facebook suggest they follow these 10 steps .

1.PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD: Your Facebook password should be unique, safe, and never shared with anyone or anywhere. Key information to avoid includes anything that’s personally identifiable, like your name, phone number, birth date and mailing address. One tip is to use a password manager that will save your passwords securely, as well as generate strong passwords for all of your accounts.

2. GET ALERTS ABOUT UNRECOGNIZED DEVICES: Use login alerts to get notifications any time someone attempts to get access to your account from a new or unrecognized device. Turn on alerts about unrecognized logins by visiting the Security and Login section, under Settings. When alerts are turned on, you’ll receive an email or notification any time someone logs into your account from an unrecognized device or browser.

3. TURN ON TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION: Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security for your account. This can be found in the Security and Login section under Settings. When you turn on two-factor authentication, you will be asked to enter a special security code each time you try to access your Facebook account from a new computer, phone or browser.

4. USE FACEBOOK CHECKUP TOOLS: Use Security Checkup to review and manage your profile’s security settings. Use Privacy Checkup to make sure only the people you trust can see your information and posts, because sometimes you want to share publicly, and sometimes only with friends.

5. MANAGE YOUR PRESENCE ON PAGES AND PROFILES: You can be as public or as private as you want to be with your audience on Facebook. Control who sees what you post by updating Settings in the Timeline and Tagging tab. You can approve or dismiss tags that friends add to your posts. Once you approve a tag, the person tagged and their friends may see your post. Tag review can be found in Settings under “Timeline and Tagging.”

6. CONTROL YOUR LOCATION IN POSTS: Facebook gives you the option to include a location in your posts. Facebook does not share location by default but it’s always a good idea to update or turn off your phone’s location services before posting from sensitive areas. You can update your location settings on your Android or iOS device.

7. PROTECT YOUR COMMUNICATION: Use messaging services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for private communications with sources. Journalists can also use Facebook with the Tor browser to help conceal their IP address so Facebook, advertisers, local phone networks, and ISPs won’t see where you’re logging in from. This further protects the security of their location and connection to Facebook. Access Facebook using the Tor browser at https://facebookcorewwwi.onion/. Facebook also provides support for Tor on Android through the Orbot proxy app, which you can download from Google Play.

8. BLOCK HARASSMENT: When you block someone they will no longer be able to do things such as tag you or see things you post on your Timeline. If you are friends, blocking will also unfriend them.

9. REPORT ABUSIVE CONTENT AND IMPERSONATION: The best way to report abusive content, spam, or impersonation on Facebook is by using the “Report” link that appears near the content itself. We will review the report and take appropriate action. Contact law enforcement if you feel threatened. To report harassment to law enforcement, take screen shots and copy URL links of any unwanted attention before blocking the harasser. After blocking someone, their prior engagement with you will no longer be visible.

10. KNOW WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE HACKED: If you think your account has been hacked or taken over, you’ll want to secure it as soon as possible. Having two-factor authentication enabled will help to prevent this. If you can log into your account, we recommend changing your password. Check the contact information stored on your account to make sure it is correct and has not been altered. If you can’t get into your account, we can help you secure your account by requiring you to change your password and review recent login activity. Or you can visit facebook.com/hacked.